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The Irony Of Immigration

The very same people that oppose less-restrictive immigration policies might not be in the United States today if it weren't f or these open policies in the first place.

Many complain that unlike immigrants of the early 20th century, newer immigrants are lazy, refuse to work, and simply become burdens of the welfare state. The older immigrants, who often happen to be ancestors of those complaining about "newer" immigrants, are said to have "worked hard" to make ends meet in the new country.

The bottom line is that all of these immigrants - whether pre- or post-1950; whether from Mexico, Vietnam, Poland or England - came to the United States for the same reason: to make a better life for themselves.

It is as simple as that - a better life. When the Irish came to America to escape the potato famine in the 1850s, it is the same as Mexicans coming into California to escape the tumultuous economy of Mexico in the 1990s. When the Vietnamese came to America for better health care and employment in the 1980s, it is the same as when the Polish came into Ellis Island for economic opportunity in the 1920s.

So why the sudden outcry against immigration? Sure, illegal immigration is a problem, as it creates bureaucratic and economic problems for the government. The solution for illegal immigration: make all immigration legal. Open up the borders.

If we can open our borders to international trade of goods and services, there is no reason why we can't do the same for humans. With the new "world" economy of low tariffs and open and relatively free trade, the United States' economy has remained fairly strong and supportive. Did the sudden "flood" of goods and services in and out of America ruin the economy? No.

The argument against this open immigration policy is that these immigrants will take our jobs, our welfare benefits and our chance at the American Dream. What people don't realize is that the sudden influxes of immigrants earlier in history did not throw the United States into an irrecoverable depression. While immigrants do in fact become employed in America, they also spend their money in America, creating more jobs for not only themselves, but other Americans.

But if one is to advocate open borders and open immigration, there still has to be some way of determining who is and isn't a citizen of the United States. The current system has potential citizens take a "citizenship" test that is elitist and inappropriate. I'd like to see how many "average Jane/Joe Americans" could actually pass this test themselves.

Opening the borders of America to the world makes economic and moral sense. There is no reason to deny anyone the opportunity of a better life and to prevent them from coming to our country. After all, immigrants have often been the people who have made this country great .

One reason that the issue of immigration has changed is that the people who are currently immigrating are not necessarily white Europeans. Many people mask their fear of immigration behind an economic facade, when, in fact, they are frightened of people other than white Europeans coming to this country. It's truly a travesty when the same people that claim these new immigrants are not "American" exhibit such un-American qualities as racism when forming their opinions on the issue of immigration.

- Greg Parker can be reached over e-mail at glparker@umich.edu